Dershowitz has spent years advocating for his "most challenging client"―the state of Israel--and has been a staunch supporter both in public and in private, holding meetings with high-level international figures that include every US president and Israeli leader of the past forty years. Through personal insights and unreported details, Defending Israel is a comprehensive history of modern Israel from the perspective of one of the country's most important defenders and offers insights into the high-profile controversies and debates that Dershowitz has taken part in over the years.
Defending Israel is a balanced defense of the Jewish homeland on numerous points, which includes Dershowitz's criticisms of Israeli decisions and policies that he believes to be unwise. At a time when Jewish Americans are increasingly uncertain as to who supports Israel and who doesn't, there is no better book to turn to for answers―and a pragmatic look toward the future.
"[Dershowitz] accepts the mantle of Israel's public defender, and his new book can be seen as a kind of trial brief...At the same time, Defending Israel is a memoir, both sentimental and poignant. . . There is a certain solemnity and gravity to his latest book, which serves as a charge to his fellow Americans and his fellow Jews: 'We must determine our destiny, write our future history, and assure the survival of the Jewish people and their nation-state forever.'" ―Jonathan Kirsch, Jewish Journal
"Defending Israel is an important and timely addition to the current history of the Middle East and Israel. It is an authoritative account of Israel's dependence on the popular support in the West. Dershowitz explores Israel's security issues in the light of rising anti-Semitism and diminishing support for Israel among Western youth." ―The Washington Book Review